Starships
"Starships" is a song by Trinidadian-American recording artist, Nicki Minaj, and appears on her second studio album,Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. It premiered during On Air with Ryan Seacrest and was released as the lead single from the album on the same day. It was produced by RedOne, Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub. The song was released for digital download on February 14, 2012. An accompanying music video for the single was shot in Hawaii on March 13–15, 2012. "Starships" debuted at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking her second solo arrival in the Top 10 of the chart, after "Super Bass", which reached number 3 in 2011. The song peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified platinum in the US on May 4, 2012. In the United Kingdom, the track debuted at number 16, reaching a peak of number 2 on March 18, 2012, marking Minaj's highest charting single as a solo artist in the region. In Australia, the track debuted at number 14, so far reaching a peak of number 2 making it her highest charting single in the region, and second top 10 hit. It also received a three-time platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The single reached number-one in Scotland, and also charted in the top ten for Belgium (Wallonia), Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.[3] In the spring of 2012, "Starships" was the 21st most downloaded ringtone. Backgroung and Recording Minaj said about the song: “‘Starships’ is one of my absolute, absolute favorite records on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. It just sounds like a Ryan Seacrest-type of record. And I’m so excited for you to give this song your blessing, Ryan, because I know people are gonna love it. It feels right. It just feels good. It makes people feel happy and that’s all I want. I want to start the year off with making people feel good. The Grammy performance was the performance, that was my clear craziness, and now it’s time to make people dance and have fun, and that’s all I want to do". In a seperate interview, she gave further details on the recording of the track: "There was so much love surrounding the making of the song, because RedOne is just so sweet to work with, he just sent me that one day, and he said, 'Hey, I got something for you!' I was like, 'You got to be kidding me, right?' I went to the studio and started writing ... scratch that ... I didn't even write the first verse! That was just me mumbling and just saying the first thing that came to my head, and we recorded it, because I just felt like: 'Let's go to the beach ... let's go get away.' It was just so good. It feels good!". Composition "Starships" is a multi-genre song, which heavily utilizes Eurodance, Europop, Euro house, and electropop while also incorporating other genres such as pop, dance, reggae, pop rock, and hip hop. After the chorus, there is a '90s-influenced Eurodance breakdown, which some critics have compared to the likes of Europop groups 2 Unlimited and C+C Music Factory. During the final Breakdown, a stadium football chant can be heard chanting the lead notes of the song. The background vocals on the chorus were considered extremely similar to Britney Spears' 2011 single "Till the World Ends" by Scott Schettler of Popcruch. Jocelyn Vena of MTV also said that "it's hard not to see Spears' influence on the rapper/singer when listening to the song." Billboard compared "Starships" to the work of Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez, other artists produced by RedOne. Musically, "Starships" is written in the key of D major and follows a moderate tempo of 125 beats per minute. Written in common time, the song follows a chord progression of D−A−G−Bm−F♯m−G. Critical Reception The song received mainly positive reviews. Los Angeles Times said that "The new single will undoubtedly divide Minaj's fan base. Longtime fans may want the cypher queen they fell in love with when she was young and hungry on the mixtape circuit, while her newer, sugar pop-loving delegation will likely crave the quirkier verses -- and cotton candy-colored wigs -- of today's Minaj". MTV said that "The song not only is pure pop perfection, but RedOne's influence is evident, thanks to its grinding Euro dance beats", adding that "It is certainly the perfect song for those who enjoyed shaking their groove thang to "Super Bass". The lighthearted, feel-good vibe of the song is perfect for casual Barbz to blast. It's hard not to see Britney Spears' influence on the rapper/singer when listening to the song, and given that the two toured together last year, Minaj may be trying to remind her pop fans that she has an ear for what they want". Entertainment Weekly gave a negative review, stating that it's "super clubby and contains almost no rapping, which continues Minaj's push into the complete opposite direction she should be heading." Bill Lamb from About.com was mixed with his review, stating: "Starships is a solid outing for Nicki Minaj. However, the day-glo pop-rap success of "Super Bass", emotional power of "Fly", and experimentation of her Grammy Awards performance has left us expecting Nicki Minaj to push boundaries. "Starships" feels a little bit like retreating into a musical pocket and trying a little too hard to insure another pop chart hit. The result is pleasurable but not particularly memorable". Bloggers for Billboard magazine, Andrew Hampp and Erika Ramirez, criticized the track for, "...monstrous pop hooks that overshadow its throwaway lyrics," while stating that it was, "the most polarizing single in Minaj's career to date." The pair also noticed that Minaj seemed to be exploring her "musical identity" through singing, instead of focusing on her strengths. Music Video Background In early March 2012, a fan asked Minaj on Twitter if there will be a video for "Starships". She quickly replied, "Yes. Of course barbz. Don't be silly". The "Starships" video was filmed in Oahu Island, Hawaii, it was a 3-day shoot, filming began on March 13, 2012 and ended on March 15, 2012. The video was directed by Anthony Mandler. In an interview with Capital FM, Minaj briefly commented on the video for "Starships", calling it "very, very saucy" and her "best one yet". The video premiered on April 26, 2012 at 7:56 pm on MTV. Synopsis The music video opens with a starship flying towards an island after being summoned by its local tribesmen. The island locals slowly awake as the craft passes overhead. The starship then beams a pink bikini-clad electric green haired Minaj down onto the beach and she begins to sing. She is presumably being worshipped as goddess as she is carried away through the jungle by the island locals wearing a pale pink bikini with strands hanging off the bottom and short green hair, which is also worn during some kaleidoscope effects and in one scene of her on the beach singing. It then goes to a scene where Minaj is dancing in the mountains wearing a white, pink and black bodysuit behind a glass box while some of the male islanders run up to her. The scene then shifts towards the volcano top at nighttime where Minaj is sitting on top of the box with some of the locals dancing around her. In the final scene, a blonde haired Minaj, wearing a white fringed strapless bikini splattered with paint, can be seen partying with the islanders. There intercut scenes that shows Minaj singing the some with some kaleidoscope effects on her in the second outfit and some more kaleidoscope effects in the same outfit but under blacklights. The music film ends with her singing the last line while looking directly into the camera. Reception John Mitchell of MTV criticized the video's postponed release, finding it strange that the video for the album's third single, "Beez in the Trap", was released before the "Starships" video. Chart Performance "Starships" debuted at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking her second solo arrival in the Top 10 of the chart, after "Super Bass", which reached number 3 in 2011. The song peaked at number 5 in the US and was certified platinum. In the United Kingdom, the track debuted at number 16, reaching a peak of number 2 on March 18, 2012, marking Minaj's highest charting single as a solo artist in the region. In Australia, the track debuted at number 14, so far reaching a peak of number 2 making it her highest charting single in the region, and second top 10 hit. It also received a platinum certification in Australia exceeding sales of 70,000 in its fourth week of official release. The single also charted in the top ten for Canada, France, Ireland, Norway, and New Zealand. In the spring of 2012, "Starships" was the 3rd most-played song on Myspace, the 12th most-played song on Yahoo! Music, and was the 21st most downloaded ringtone. In Popular Culture Live Performances On February 26, 2012, Minaj performed the single live for the first time along with "Moment 4 Life", "Turn Me On" and "Super Bass" at the 2012 NBA All-Star Game. Minaj also performed the single on the eleventh season of American Idol results show on March 29, 2012, and on Today on April 6th. Minaj performed the song in a mash-up with "Right by My Side" at The Ellen Degeneres Show on May 10, 2012. Minaj will be performing the song live at the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony as it is the official theme for the event. Media Usage "Starships" was featured in season 1 finale episode of 2 Broke Girls, "And Martha Stewart Have a Ball". Recurring guests, Sophia Grace and Rosie, also performed a cover version of the song at the The Ellen Degeneres Show. Track Listing Charts and Certifications Category:Nicki Minaj discography Category:Songs by Nicki Minaj Category:Singles from Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Category:Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded